Joseph Beimfohr enlisted in the Army two days after his 17th birthday, with the approval of his grandmother, who had raised him. He did two tours of duty in Korea in a forward force that was on alert at all times. In August 2004, he arrived at Ft. Riley, Kansas, to train for duty in Iraq. Encouraged that he was working with experienced and dedicated men, he landed in country in January 2005. There he did more forward scouting, only this time under real rather than anticipated fire. What he learned from his experiences was that soldiers have to trust their training and instincts. In July he lost both legs to an explosion, and Beimfohr subsequently learned that the only limitations in his life were self-imposed.